The rule: move one notch away from the square
The most visible restaurants are the ones facing Sultanahmet Square, Divanyolu avenue and the streets running down to the sea. They pay high rents and count on passing customers: the menu is long, the photos of dishes are big, a waiter invites you in. That does not mean everything there is bad, but the gap between location and plate is the widest in the city.
A simple rule: walk a few minutes. Once you leave the immediate surroundings of Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, customers are more often locals, students and neighbourhood office workers, and the menus are shorter.
Divanyolu: köfte, pide and lokantas
Divanyolu avenue, followed by the T1 tram between Sultanahmet and Çemberlitaş, is the most convenient restaurant street in the district. There are three types of places:
- Köfte houses: grilled meatballs served with white beans (kuru fasulye), piyaz salad and bread. Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi (Selim Usta), open since 1920 on Divanyolu, is a neighbourhood institution; check its hours before going.
- Lokantas: restaurants with slow-cooked dishes on display. You point at what you want and see the portion before you pay.
- Pide and lahmacun: topped flatbreads baked in a wood oven, a quick lunch.
On the same avenue, the Pudding Shop, open since the 1950s, was a famous stop for backpackers on the road to Asia. It is worth it for its history; do not choose it for the menu.
Akbıyık and Cankurtaran: evening terraces
South-east of the Blue Mosque, around Akbıyık Caddesi and Cankurtaran, this district of hotels and hostels has terraces, cafés and more relaxed bars. Many rooftop terraces overlook the Blue Mosque or Hagia Sophia. The setting often justifies the drinks more than the cooking: for a full dinner, go back down to the lokantas of Divanyolu or Sirkeci. Alcohol is served in most of these places; our guide to alcohol in Istanbul recalls the rules.
Hocapaşa and Sirkeci: the locals' side
Ten minutes' walk from Hagia Sophia, behind Sirkeci station, Hocapaşa Sokak and its neighbours line up lokantas, pide restaurants and a few meyhanes (taverns) where neighbourhood workers have lunch. Menus are shorter and customers more often Turkish. Hafız Mustafa, a historic pastry shop in Sirkeci, is the place for baklava and lokum: see pastries and baklava.
Around Topkapı and Gülhane
The gardens of Gülhane Park, at the entrance to Topkapı Palace, have open-air tables and shaded tea kiosks. It is a good place for a break between two visits, without a full meal. Simit (sesame ring bread) and grilled corn carts also park on the square for a quick snack.
The traps to know
- The tout who greets you in your language: he offers a "special menu" or a "table with a view". Do not let yourself be guided; look at the posted menu yourself.
- No prices on the menu: if you cannot see the price of dishes, drinks or fish (often charged by weight), ask before you order.
- Bread and mezze brought without asking: at the table, they are generally charged if you eat them. Refuse what you do not want.
- Service and cover charges: some bills include a service or cover charge; check the line before leaving a tip. Our guide to money, payment and tipping in Istanbul explains the customs.
- Fixed-price "tourist menus": often generous, rarely better than a plate ordered à la carte in a lokanta.
- Fish by the piece: ask the price per kilo and the weight before the fish is cooked.
No restaurant prices are given here: menus change several times a year, and we only mention what can be checked on the spot.
Where to eat by time of day
- Breakfast: a full Turkish breakfast is eaten at the hotel or at a specialist place; see Turkish breakfast in Istanbul.
- Quick lunch: a lokanta or köfte house on Divanyolu, or a simit and tea on the square.
- Tea break: a tea house around Sultanahmet Park or in the Gülhane gardens.
- Dinner: a terrace in Akbıyık for the view, or a meyhane in Sirkeci for a more local evening.
Practical tips
Book dinner if you are aiming for a terrace with a view, especially at weekends and in high season. Mosques close to visitors during the five prayers, longer on Friday midday: time your lunch around these slots rather than waiting at the door.
Going further
To combine sightseeing and meals, see Sultanahmet: what to see in the old city and around Hagia Sophia, on foot in ten minutes. The pages for Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque give hours and access, and our guide to scams and safety in Istanbul covers the traps on the square.
